Batman: Under the Red Hood

 1.5/4

Starring (voices): Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Joe DiMaggio, Neil Patrick Harris, Wade Williams, Jason Isaacs, Kelly Hu

Rated PG-13 for Violent Content and Some Drug References

Superheroes only work when we can relate to them.  We have to believe that they are, if not believable, at least plausible.  Every time I have tried to get into superhero comics, I find it impossible because it gets so over-the-top.  When you have Batman, who uses gadgets and his own strict code, crossing dimensions or whatnot, it crosses a line where he loses his identity.  Anything is possible.  And that's the problem.  If he or the characters he interacts with can do anything, then what are the stakes?  What are the risks?

I had that same problem with "Batman: Under the Red Hood."  The central conflict isn't the problem.  In fact, with a more grounded approach it could have been riveting.  But when you have a grounded character like Batman dueling against villains with laser swords, it loses any possibility of immersion.

Batman (Greenwood) is grieving over a loss.  Jason Todd, the latest boy to don the uniform of Robin, was trapped by the Joker (DiMaggio) and the Caped Crusader was unable to save him in time.  While trying to move forward, a new threat has risen.  A masked criminal calling himself the Red Hood (Ackles) has shown up in Gotham.  He has gained the allegiance of the city's biggest drug dealers by undercutting the Black Mask (Williams).  The Black Mask isn't about to take this lying down, and goes to extremes to catch this new upstart.

What kills "Batman: Under the Red Hood" is that it never commits to a single plane of reality.  I'll believe Batman with his Batmobile and Batwing.  That is credible to me.  But the Black Mask, both in drawing style and behavior, seems to have wandered in from a Saturday morning cartoon.  He and Batman seem to be from two different movies and horribly spliced together.  And it gets more ridiculous from there.  Drug dealing, magic and Cartoon Network do not mix.

The voice acting does not impress.  Bruce Greenwood, who can act (he's a favorite of Atom Egoyan), apparently decided that the best way to portray the character is to be as emotionless as possible.  The drawing style allows for little bits of behavior to show a haunted Bruce Wayne, but Greenwood is on sedatives.  His co-star, "Supernatural" star Jensen Ackles, is even worse.  "Stiff" is too kind of word.  There are only a few moments when he is credible.  Everyone else disappears into their roles; you'd be hard pressed to recognize Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Isaacs in the cast.

Ultimately, "Batman: Under the Red Hood" fails for the same reason that the MCU is failing.  It forgets the most important rule of storytelling: consistency is everything.

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